ArticleAnnals of surgical oncology2025
Are More Young, Western Patients Also Developing Hepatocellular Carcinoma?
Article in Annals of surgical oncology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Early-Onset Digestive System Cancers: Risk Factors and Clinicopathological and Molecular Features Across Organ Sites.Cancer science · 2026Review
- Machine learning-based early survival prediction in early-onset hepatocellular carcinoma: a SEER-based multi-model comparative study.Translational cancer research · 2026Article
- Global trends in early-onset liver cancer incidence and projections to 2050 based on the global burden of disease study 2021.Discover oncology · 2026Article
- Missingness in the National Cancer Database: A Novel Surrogate for Hepatobiliary Cancer Outcomes.Annals of surgical oncology · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundWhile the incidence of early-onset cancers is rising, it is unclear whether this is the case for early-onset hepatocellular carcinoma (eHCC). Even the definition of eHCC remains unclear. This study was designed to identify an age cutoff for eHCC and to explore trends in its incidence, clinical presentation, surgical outcomes, and long-term survival compared to typical-onset HCC (tHCC).
methodsThe National Cancer Database was queried for HCC patients (2010-2021). Both eHCC (< 50 years) and tHCC (≥ 50 years) were statistically defined. Propensity score matching adjustment, multivariate hazard ratios, and stage-dependent Kaplan-Meier survival analysis were calculated.
resultsAmong 207,653 patients, 10,128 (4.88%) had eHCC, with decreasing incidence from 2010 to 2021 (7.50% to 3.83%). eHCC had higher grade, synchronous metastasis, and nodal involvement. Independent predictors of worse 5-year survival included tHCC, uninsured, and higher TNM staging. Despite worse clinical characteristics, eHCC had improved survival across all stages (p < 0.001). After matching, eHCC had improved outcomes for stage I, II (p < 0.001, p = 0.004), and T1-T3 tumors (p < 0.001, p = 0.002, p = 0.045), but not T4. Minority status, lack of insurance, lower income, and greater distance to the hospital are independent predictors of eHCC.
conclusionsAfter defining a novel, evidence-based age cutoff for eHCC, data indicate that while cancer incidence among younger patients is generally rising, the incidence of eHCC is declining. Although eHCC are more advanced cancers, they have improved outcomes compared to tHCC when undergoing surgery. In this context, especially young patients with stage I, II, or tumor ≤ T3 have favorable outcomes following resection.
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